Something Special
by aidyr
Summary: Sakura has a big ol' crush on Saki Nikaido. Honestly, can she even be blamed? So much could be said about how amazing the former Bōsōzoku biker is. That said, she doesn't ever plan to tell her how she feels. But when Lily and Yugiri catch her staring at the gorgeous rebel in question, she may be forced to do just that. - Also published on AO3 -


There was something special about Saki Nikaido. Though, Sakura wasn't able to place what exactly that special something was. After all, there was so much to be said her. Her singing voice which was - in contrast to her aggressive attitude and intimidating personality - beautiful—angelic, even. She was prettier than any shambling corpse had any damn right to be. The energy and passion she brung to their ragtag team of undead idol ne'er-do-wells was infectious. Granted it was unlikely that this passion came from an actual place of interest in idols on Saki's part and more likely because she valued teamwork and comradery. But regardless, that was nice in its own right. Saki's aforementioned "aggressive attitude and intimidating personality" was, honestly, kind of attractive. But moreover, it was only something to be found on the surface of her person. Behind the mask of a dangerous rebel which the ex-Bōsōzoku girl often wore, she was both mind numbingly adorable and a total sweetheart. She used to have a Tamagotchi, and she loved that thing for god's sake. How cute is that?

Given how much she cared for her team, it went without saying that she was always there for them. When serious-mode was necessary, she didn't hesitate to sit down and dish out life advice. She'd been more than able and happy to comfort Ai during a thunderstorm. Sakura didn't know the details, but from what she had gathered, upon learning of Ai's fear of lightning (prior to their literally electrifying performance at SAGA Rock,) Saki had been there to talk to and offer gentle reassurance to their beloved 2000's idol. The two had seemingly huddled together underneath shelter from the pouring rain.

Sakura was… fairly jealous.

Not that she'd ever admit to it though. She was above petty jealousy. It was admirable of Saki to be there for her teammate, and there's no way in hell Sakura would ever suggest she shouldn't have been there to help Ai out. That would be awful.

Maybe she only wished that she too had some sort of terrible fear that Saki would cuddle out of her.

The thought of cuddling the gorgeous delinquent - among other less innocent thoughts - flooded Sakura's mind as she spaced out on Saki's shirt lifting up to swipe the sweat from her forehead. It made since she'd be sweaty after such a workout, or at least… it would were she not literally a corpse. Honestly, Sakura didn't understand how any of their weird zombie biology worked, but it didn't really matter so long as she got to catch a glimpse of the blonde's undead abs when she went to wipe her brow.

"Oooooo, someone's got a cruuuussh—!"

And she'd been caught staring. Wonderful.

Lily bounced into view. Her sky blue hair swayed with her as she skipped excitedly up to the now flustered redhead. "I saw that missy," she giggled playfully. With an obnoxious eyebrow wiggle and the largest shit-eating grin Sakura was sure she'd ever seen, the child actress leaned in close and pressed further, "C'mon, you've been ogling her every practice these past multiple weeks. I'm honestly surprised she hasn't said something, you're sooooo obvious."

"Wha—n-no!" Though her cheeks were green and blood should no longer flow through her body, Sakura's face was consumed by a mighty blush. Mysterious zombie biology was a damnable thing, indeed. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

A haughty laugh came in from the side, as a tall and jaw-dropping beauty joined their conversation. "I think the lady doth protest too much," Yugiri smiled knowingly at the younger zombie.

Unsure what to say or do, Sakura let her eyes avoid making contact with either of the meddlesome duo that had snuck up on her. Unfortunately, this led her gaze back to Saki who was now dancing and singing like the world wasn't watching. Sakura felt her cold, dead heart beat harder than it ever had while she'd been alive. She groaned and hid her face behind her hands cause there was no way she'd be able to deny her affection towards the girl she'd been staring at. Yugiri was far too attuned to that sorta thing (courtesy of her vigorous work as, essentially, a high class Meiji era prostitute,) and Lily was surprisingly intelligent for her age.

"Awww Yugiri look she's all embarrassed," Lily chuckled both teasingly and with good nature.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Yugiri offered, placing her hand gently on Sakura's shoulder, "it's normal for a girl your age to experience sexuality."

Lily nodded knowingly, "The raging hormones which teens are unable to control. An inconvenience I'll gladly never have to face."

Sakura peaked through the space between her fingers, eyeing her friends with hesitance, "Why and how would zombies have raging hormones?"

Lily shrugged, "Our biology is a mystery."

Sakura sighed. "A-anyways," she continued, "I appreciate the reassurance guys but I think it's a bit more than uh…"

"Her rockin' tummy muscles?" Lily finished for her. Not that she was wrong to say Sakura appreciated the abdominals of a well worked, motorcycling badass. But that didn't stop her from shooting Lily a fiery glare.

"How deep do your feelings for her go?" Yugiri wondered aloud, "and why not tell her if you're truly that infatuated?"

And just like that Sakura's racing heart stopped its hammering. She shook her head and threw up her arms, "N-no I can't do that!" Sakura was, for lack of better words, very not in Saki's league. Saki was a hardcore, hard working, beautiful, spirited, energetic, supportive, gutsy biker babe with an accent somehow so coarse yet so smooth when spoken from her lips. Sakura was… not that. She was really just a normal girl who had passed away then subsequently revived. The thought that she had legitimately died sent frosty shivers down her spine. She considered herself lucky (naturally,) to be given a second chance at existing, but when put up against so many literal living legends she couldn't help but feel somewhat… inadequate.

Lily cocked her head to the side. She wore an expression like that of a confused puppy. "Huh? Why not?"

Sakura shrugged sadly, "Guys I don't know I just… Don't think she'd feel the same is all."

At this, Lily snorted, which earned her a firm tap from resident mother/big sister Yugiri.

"What?" Sakura asked with a tinge of annoyance, "Why the laugh?"

"Sweetheart," Yugiri chimed, "you should tell her how you feel. You may be surprised."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Lily, with a roll of falsely exasperated eyes, scoffed, "Only that whenever you bend over Saki can't take her eyes off your bu—" Yugiri once again shut her up with a powerful tap. "Erm I-I mean… you should totally go talk to her. Trust us, we wouldn't lie to you, right?"

"I don't know guys…"

"Oi, what're all of y'all over here talking about?"

The rough and captivating voice of Franchouchou's very own biker boss caught the attention of the jabbering trio. Lily and Yugiri gave each other a smug and mischievous look, which didn't at all bode well for Sakura.

Poor Sakura tried to shake her head no, in a manner wherein she'd be understood by the plotting pair of self proclaimed match makers but not tip Saki off to something being the matter.

Of course, it didn't help.

"Oh, nothing much," Lily sing-songed, "only about how Sakura had something she really really wanted to tell you in private."

God. Damn. It. Lily Hoshikawa.

Yugiri hummed in concurrence. They've now gotten Sakura's eyebrow to begin twitching in frustration. The Oiran whispered something in Saki's ear which gave the blonde a notable honey glow in the cheeks.

 _What was that all about…?_ Sakura wondered.

"Oh well…" Saki glanced nervously around the room. Everyone was doing their thing; Ai and Junko were talking about new song lyrics, Tae was… well… Tae, and Kotaro was nowhere to be seen. "Sure, I guess. C'mon then," she waved Sakura on and turned to make way out of the dance room.

It took a couple moments of contemplation for Sakura to get up and move, but she couldn't just ignore her crush and stay put. So despite every molecule in her rotting body telling her not to play into whatever trap Lily and Yugiri had just set for her, she got up and started to follow Saki out the room.

As she turned to leave, she caught Lily whispering-yelling after her, "Get some Sakura!"

Sakura wanted to die. Again.

(***)

The two had made their way out of the dance studio and up to the common area where they all hung out and slept. Sakura focused all her will on not allowing her face to turn the same shade as her hair, after all, she knew what Lily and Yugiri expected her to do right now.

"So…" Saki started, there was an uncharacteristic nervousness in her voice. "You… wanna talk?"

"I… uh…" What was she even supposed to say here? The words of reassurance Lily and Yugiri had given to her lingered tauntingly in her mind.

 _"Trust us,"_ Lily had said, _"we wouldn't lie to you, right?"_

Well Sakura knew that to be the case. There was no reason (none she could see at least,) for them to lead her astray. They were her friends, and they had nothing to gain from setting her up for failure. But she had to wonder how they were so confident this would go well. They may not have been liars, but that didn't mean they couldn't be wrong.

"Yo Sakura? Earth to egg-head~" Saki stepped closer to the mess of a zombie before her. "You alright, girl?"

"Y-YES—!" Sakura all but shrieked. Saki's sudden close proximity had caught her off guard. If she could facepalm herself out of existence, she would've right then and there.

"You sure? You're lookin' a bit hot." And then to act on that observation, Saki held a hand firmly against Sakura's cheek. This was a mistake, for the moment she did, the small ounce of control Sakura had over the redness of her face flew violently out the window; never to be seen again. Thusly, her temperature skyrocketed as well. "Holy shit, you're burning up," Saki mumbled. When she pulled away, there was an immediate feeling of loss against Sakura's face. "I don't really get how you'd have a fever… I dunno if zombies really do that… but… we could ask Shades?"

Alas, Kotaro wouldn't likely be of much help.

"N-no I'm fine…" Sakura stuttered shyly.

"You sure?"

Sakura nodded.

"Well… alrighty then. So what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Shoot, maybe she should've played up the illness card after all. She could've said she wasn't feeling well and just needed someone to talk to. Then she could've smoothly played off her raging homosexuality as indeed, a fever.

Now Saki was expecting her to say something else…

Or at least, that seemed to have been the case until Saki's face too, shifted into a pensive expression. "A-actually," The older girl began before Sakura could make up something to talk about, "Would'ya mind if uh… I went first…? There's something I've wanted to say to you for a while and well… I talked to Sis about it and she got me to agree to do it soon. And she said this would be as good a time as any so…"

Oh?

Oh wait.

Maybe that's what Yugiri had whispered to her?

Oh dear.

Now Sakura was even more weary. If that was possible.

"Oh… Okay then," the redhead smiled in a way she hoped was inviting. "I'm all ears."

"Right…" Saki shuffled her feet against the creaky old floors of their… Hideout? Home? Studio? She shifted her weight between her feet and screwed her face into deep concentration. While Sakura was of course, worried about where this may or may not be going, moreover her curiosity was now intensely piqued. This was the first time she had seen Saki so nervous—so focused on saying the right thing. It was odd, but it was almost as if the spunky rebel had temporarily turned into Junko. Sakura was getting ready to say something along the lines of: _Um… Saki, you okay over there?_ Even if what she was was actually thinking may have been more akin to: _What in the name of all which is holy did Yugiri say to make you of all zombies blush? To make you of all confident, powerful people unsure of what to say?_ She held her tongue though because it looked like Saki was ready to speak her mind. "S-Sakura…?"

Saki Nikaido's face was just as red as Sakura imagined her own to be. And Saki Nakaido had just stuttered.

"Uh… Yes?"

"Can I be like real forward with ya?"

Goodness gracious, Sakura could feel the tension in the room suffocating her. "Sure…?"

"Shit okay… Okay uh, do you… um… _play for your own team?_ "

Huh? Well that's not exactly what Sakura had been expecting. She didn't even know what Saki was talking about. "Do I play for my own team? Um… What might you mean by that?"

"For the love of f—"

"Sorry…?"

Saki groaned with some level of exasperation. It wasn't clear if it was directed toward Sakura or herself, but the former girl hoped she hadn't said anything bothersome. She couldn't well answer Saki's super important question though if she didn't know what she was talking about. With a shake of her head, Saki continued, "No it's fine. My fault for beating around the bush. Just…"

Stunning red eyes lazily scanned Sakura up and down. Being studied by the object of her affections didn't help at all with the fluttering warmth and adoration which filled filled heart. Saki's lips pinched together in thought. What followed appeared to be a strange concoction of hope and apprehension which painted itself across Saki's undead features.

"Close your eyes…" Saki instructed.

Sakura squinted in confusion, "...Why?"

"Just do it."

In any other situation with any other person, this would've likely been a red-flag. But she trusted Saki. So with that, Sakura nodded quietly and with only brief hesitation, shut her eyes and waited.

The seconds which followed were spent in complete and utter silence and were some of the longest seconds of her life. Or… longest seconds of her lack thereof.

But just like that, the next few seconds went by faster than any few seconds ever had or ever would.

It was a soft, careful feeling. And it was over far too quickly. But Sakura had for a fleeting moment, registered the pressure against her lips. Her eyes flew open so hard she was surprised they didn't fall out of their sockets. But as soon as she opened her eyes, Saki was pulling away with a face glowing as bright as the earth's sun.

"S-Saki w-w-was that…?"

"It was a kiss dumbass…"

 _So that's what she meant by playing for her own team…_

"Y-yes but… Why?"

Never has Sakura seen someone raise their brow as highly, quickly and incredulously as Saki proceeded to do. It was actually kind of impressive. "Huh?"

Sakura was unsure of what to say, the question of why Saki kissed her seemed simple enough. Either she had actually wanted to kiss her or she was just messing with her. She prayed it wasn't the latter. But that only opened the floor to more questions. Why did Saki choose her of all their gorgeous teammates to kiss? Did she like her back? Probably not, that seemed like wishful thinking. Maybe she just wanted to kiss someone regardless of who? Just for the hell of it? But why?

Looking back on it, Sakura would surely find it funny how she was absolutely unable to comprehend that someone might return her romantic feelings. But for the time being, she simply struggled to wrap her head around what was happening. She was thoroughly confused.

"I can tell you're way overthinking this." Saki's low voice snapped Sakura out of her kiss induced trance.

Because by god, she'd just been kissed by Saki Nikaido.

"Sakura look," the blonde fixed her with a serious stare, "I've… like, got a thing for you, yeah? It's cool if you don't feel the same but… Its been driving me wild ya'know? I told Sis and she gave me some kinda cryptic bullshit 'bout following my heart or some junk. I don't know, but she told me to tell you before she did it for me so… yeah…"

That sounded like Yugiri alright. Wait, Saki had just said she liked her...

"You… have a thing for… _me_?" She couldn't believe her ears. Maybe the decay was messing with her hearing… Literally any other member of Franchouchou would make more sense for Saki to show interest in. Well… barring Lily perhaps, if only for her age. But even then, Lily had more to her name than Sakura did. "Why… me…? You're so cool, and pretty a-and confident. Why would you like… me of all people?"

That didn't look to please Saki at all. One moment the misunderstood misfit had been oddly sheepish, the next her hand was on her hip and she was sporting her signature scowl. "The hell do you mean why?"

"I mean-"

"Sakura no, you're awesome." Saki paused, lost in thought, when slowly a small, cocky, and gleeful smile accompanied a flash a realization on her face, "I'd be glad to talk more about how awesome you are if you'd wanna keep on about how cool, pretty, and confident I am."

"Oh… I-I did say that I guess…"

Saki hummed a quiet tune, (one which sounded strikingly similar to the song they'd all sung the night Saki somehow managed to stop a gang rivalry,) all while an amused smile crept across her face. With even strides, she walked her way closer to Sakura whose growing anticipation shot higher with each step her crush took closer to her. "Say," Saki purred with all the confidence which had fled her minutes prior, "you look pretty into this too. What is it you wanted to talk about again?" Saki wrapped her arms around Sakura's neck, effectively destroying any and all subtly regarding her intentions.

Sakura hadn't actually wanted to partake in this private chat. She knew it would be awkward and terrible, and were she to submit to the heinous plans of her peers, it would likely end in disappointment. Suffice to say, this hadn't gone even a little how she had expected. That said, she couldn't help but let her blood colored stare make careful note of how close their faces were. She couldn't help but let her eyes flicker down to Saki's lips, up into her eyes, and back again. And she figured…

"What the hell," Sakura mumbled warmly, before leaning in and returning Saki's earlier peck on the lips. "I have a thing for you too."

The look of pure, wholesome joy that Saki couldn't keep from showing was the most precious thing in the world. Even more precious than a motorbike riding sparkplug fangirling over a cute 90's toy. The kiss in it of itself was surprisingly pleasant as well. After all, they were corpses. But even so, Saki's lips were soft and welcoming, and didn't taste much like how you'd expect a dead body to taste. Of course, as they'd all come to learn, it didn't matter because clearly they didn't function quite how you'd expect a zombie to function.

Mysterious zombie biology was a wonderful, blessing of a thing indeed.

"So…" Saki mused, a cute little blush spreading her cheeks, "does this mean we're… together?"

"Only if you'll have me." Sakura returned the joyous smile.

"You'd better believe it," Saki giggled with unmitigated, childlike delight before diving in for another kiss.

Sakura would definitely need to thank Lily and Yugiri later. But for now… She had a beautiful, talented, amazing, prideful, stubborn, hardcore, passionate, and very special girl to kiss.


End file.
